Solar Eclipse 2017

Picture I took of the eclipse. August 21, 2017

We made the trek to the path of totality for the "Great American Eclipse" of 2017.  We camped out at Sadler's Creek State Park near Anderson, SC.  We endured two days of  sweltering 90+ degree weather and two hot muggy nights for 2 minutes of a celestial spectacular.

Joseph, my most vocal child, certainly felt like it was completely worth it. (Michael, my most vocal husband, said it would be a long time before he forgave me for this one. ...He jests, of course!) We viewed the eclipse from a gravelly beach on Lake Hartwell. Many others were gathered throughout the area. We were not far from the park's office and main pavilion, which was just across a little inlet of the lake. From where we sat, we additionally had a view of a wedding that took place about 20 minutes before the total eclipse. The celebratory music was blaring from the sound system, and perhaps the most gratifying part of this eclipse experience was getting to hear Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" just minutes before the total eclipse of the sun! (Because the song has been in my head for days, if not weeks!)

We enjoyed the community atmosphere as we chatted with nearby observers who came from Virginia and brought a few different viewing accessories. I'm glad I had made paper plate shields for the goggles because it actually made it easier to use the goggles with one hand. 

Samuel modeling the custom plate shield.

 
A typical symptom of motherhood, I was also somewhat distracted by my concern for my children's safety during the eclipse. We had gone over the rules and how to properly use the eclipse goggles, but kids are always a little unpredictable. As totality was ending, I caught Samuel still staring up into the sky with unprotected eyes. I had to shout out to him and run over to get him to stop looking directly. Then we had little Lucy who is too young to wear eclipse glasses or understand the importance of not looking right at the sun (and I have no idea if she would be curious or not). I had her on my back, which I felt was perhaps the safest place for her to be, but it also meant I couldn't see her directly and where she was looking, but Michael helped make sure her view of the sun was blocked.  I heard that official NASA viewing sites had a horn to let people know when they could take their goggles off and when to put them back on. I think that would have been very helpful!

There was a lot of excitement leading up to totality. The anticipation was palpable in the final moments. Then we got to take off our glasses and look right at the sun! It was actually a lot brighter all around us than I had expected. Most of the photos one sees of the eclipse show the black moon and blackness all around the white corona.  People also refer to totality as "black out." However, the sky remained medium-dark blue, like at dusk. I like this picture that seems to show pretty well how light it still is outside during an eclipse. When we read that the "stars come out" we could only see three "stars" which I believe were actually planets since those shine brighter than stars and without shimmer. I'm pretty sure we saw Mercury right next to the sun, and also Mars and Venus. (Although I didn't check my assumption on astronomical map, so I may be wrong.) Being at a state park, right on the edge of a gigantic lake, I think we should have had relatively little light pollution. 

Even the totally eclipsed sun is still very bright to look at. I tried to take in the scene all around us, so I didn't look at it the whole two and half minutes. And those minutes flew by! It really just goes so quickly. It's almost hard to accept with the amount of media build up and effort it takes to get some place where one can view the total eclipse.

I'm glad that we made the trip though. I'm sure I would have been wondering about what I would have missed out on if we hadn't gone to see it. But I have to admit that it was not a "mind-blowing" experience as one article that I read put it. It was definitely cool, but my mind is still totally intact. ;)

I've been looking at other people's eclipse photos online. I really like the various pinhole projections such as those through leaves, colanders, flowers, and state cutouts. Next time an eclipse happens, I hope to have some fun with those effects too.

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4. Landscape during or just before totality. 360* Sunset effect.

5. Amateur picture of the eclipsed sun. Just looks like a bright dot!

The Wood Family - waiting to view the eclipse!

This is a log the kids liked playing on near our campsite.

Photo credit: Clara Wood

Lucy. (You can see the pavilion across the way where the wedding took place. The ceremony was outdoors.)